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The Post Office has unveiled plans for a significant revamp that includes the shuttering of 115 branches, posing a risk to hundreds of jobs.
Unveiled earlier today, the transformation strategy is set to increase the income of UK postmasters by as much as £250m per year by 2030, as reported by City AM.
Under scrutiny are the Post Office’s 115 Crown branches, situated in high-footfall areas and operated directly by employees rather than franchisees. These branches collectively employ over 1,000 staff members.
In recent years, the Post Office has been transitioning towards a franchise model with large companies such as Tesco and WH Smith taking the helm at around 2,000 locations, while approximately 9,000 branches remain under the management of independent operators.
According to The Guardian, potential cuts at the company’s head office might lead to an additional 1,000 job losses. Meanwhile, the Post Office anticipates that it will franchise out all 115 branches within the next five years.
Nigel Railton, who took on the role of chair in January this year following the dismissal of former chair Henry Staunton, has been at the forefront of the proposed closures.
He commented on the need for renewal, saying: “The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters.”
The Post Office has unveiled a transformation plan aimed at augmenting postmasters’ earnings, forecasting a £120 million rise in their revenue share in the initial year, translating to a significant 30 per cent boost.
(Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
Over the ensuing years, the organisation is intent on redoubling the average annual remuneration for branches, enhancing income for many postmasters who commonly contend with razor-thin profit margins.
Chief Executive Nick Read underscored the import of these reforms, asserting: “The value postmasters deliver in their communities must be reflected in their pockets.”
Further automation advancements are also on the agenda as part of the new agreement, which aims to diminish manual handling within its cash and mail services, allowing postmasters more opportunity to attend to their customers.
This progression comes against a backdrop of intensified scrutiny faced by the Post Office, principally stemming from the Horizon scandal that implicated numerous sub-postmasters due to defective software resulting in financial discrepancies from 1999 to 2015.
With the ongoing inquiry poised to conclude after two and a half years, Read is keen on resetting the reputation of the Post Office.
He asserts that this new framework, which encompasses involving postmasters in decision-making via a fresh Postmaster Panel and Consultative Council, will initiate ‘a new phase in partnership’.
Read’s vision highlights a determined effort to reinstate pride in an institution marred by distress, rather than operating under the shadow of its former controversies: “We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade shared with The Guardian: “The government is in active discussion with Nigel Railton on his plans to put postmasters at the centre of the organisation and strengthen the post office network for its long-term future.”
However, Dave Ward, the leader of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), has urged the government to step in regarding what he labelled a “shambolic decision” and “tone deaf as it is immoral”.
Ward commented: “CWU members are victims of the Horizon scandal and for them to now fear for their jobs ahead of Christmas is yet another cruel attack… it seems the Post Office has learned no lessons from its chaotic and uncoordinated mistakes of the past.”
He continued: “We call on the Post Office to immediately halt these planned closures and the attached consultations… and engage with the CWU on protecting jobs and services.”
